: Seeing the spark you've added to the debate, here are more reasons as to why
: Cortana is clearly 'changed' post-library plunge and now a hitch-hiking
: convict.

: - The much mentioned red eyes and aggressive change in tone towards
: masterchief after access to the library info.

Mmmmm possibly... perhaps a bit tooo subtle for me though. When faced with such incredible odds and the fate of the known universe... i think id put the pressure on the chief too.

: - The level title 'Two Betrayls': we know one betrayl is 343GS misleading MC
: with the information he supplies him. The other... well the only other
: person involved in the exchange is Cortana.

Ah o.o you may be on to something. It could also be the fact that GS betrayed the chief and the chief in turn betrayed GS, or that the Cheif and Cortana are betraying the remaning humans by attempting to destroy Halo without notifying them, or that Keyes is now part of the Flood and is trying to thwart the cheif, or that.... =) its a bit too vague... but considering prior alusions (the letters etc) i think your idea has some credence.

: - The level sub-heading 'Breaking Stuff to look Tough': To look tough alone
: is to imply there is no real substance or meaning to the act. Cortana
: orders us to destroy those plasma power cells becasue 343GS might still
: activate Halo without the index. THIS MAKES NO SENSE.
: 1. His protocols mean he can't activate Halo himself, hence his interest in
: chief.
: 2. He obviously DOES requires the index - why lead MC thru the library? Why
: chase MC around, demand he be killed, why why why if there is a
: possibility of firing the Halo without it.

Actually it does make sense. In the case that 343 GS 'hacks his way around the failsafes' it makes sense. In the case that the chief is killed and the index is recovered it makes sense. As a game, you ASSUME that you will not die... but think about it as real life. Where are the garauntees that the chief, hopelessly overwhelmed, would not die. I think i died alot in fact....

: If we make the logical assumption (this is indeed an act of destruction with
: no inherent reason for us the player) this again adds weight to the idea
: that Cortana is destoying Halo for reasons OTHER than saving humanity.

: -Cortana demonsrates some pretty remarkable talents that suggest an evolution
: far beyond that of her previous 'ship AI' post. Remember, just becuase you
: read about something doesn't mean you should be a ble to do it. This
: applies to Cortana in the forerunner database.

>.< Shes not JUST a ship AI.... you read the Fall of Reach?

: 1. She makes the index dissapear - a material object. She does not teleport
: it - there is no characteristic yellow glow and it is clearly impossible
: for 343GS to go and get it. This is a stupendous, dimension manipulating
: talent.

GS did it. Now that she knows the intricacies of Halo... why shouldnt she be able to do it, especially (if it is as it seems) the index is simply holographic.

: 2. She shuts down 343GS, a guard AI made by a massively advanced
: civilisation. This is like a Victorian chamber-maid reading a contemproary
: book on the internet and then successfuly hacking into FBI servers.

Shuts down.... i think she just bitch slapped him.... he seemed to come back pretty easily.

: 3. She is able to teleport - this is, as far as I know, a skill human
: civilisation is completely unable to emulate. If not why do we run over to
: see Keyes in the games opening and not just teleport straight there? I
: understand that she learns of a telportation network from the library
: info, but this is a skill she shouldn't be able to physically 'do' - what
: human created programs could possibly interact with an alien mechanism
: that manipulates something not even invented yet? The victorian
: chamber-maid analogy springs to mind.

The teleportation ability is not inherent in her, it is a technology imbeded in Halo. Assuming that it was probably used by the builders all the time, it is doubtfull that such a technology was 'classifyed' or incredibly complex. Besides, it made for good story.

: This is just in-game evidence. The Cortana Poems make it pretty conclusive
: that there is some identity confusion going on - infact they appear to
: suggest she has managed to reach a forth stage of rampancy (which is near
: Godhood is it not?)

hmm... agreed....

: As to why and what is going on... well I have a number of ideas in my head
: having read some william blake and a bit of Genesis.

: By sharp and flame,

: Cortana
: In the bible, when Adam and Eve are kicked out of Eden and no longer its
: guardians, heavenly creatures and a burning sword are left as protectors.
: I feel that Cortana is clearly this burning sword - or more precisely she
: is consumed by this 'burning sword' that lies dormant in the network and
: claims her identity. In the letter she mentions how this other AI has an
: unhealthy preocuupation with my mother. If we deduce the other AI is 343
: then how can he have a preoccupation with Cortana's mother? Who is the
: mother?

: Well lets bring in William Blake - references to his work are peppered
: throughout Cortana's writing.

: Blake is rather obsessed with worms - and on numerous occasions he states
: that the worm is 'His mother and his sister'. I would suggest that the worm
: (attributed with death, the ability to renew the moisture of the sandy
: plain, alter the Atmospheres, originate from a 'black shinning sun', and
: evolve into serpents, as well as being labelled armies of disease) is the
: flood. We see flood-textured worms in the Silent Cartographer sea and
: other water sources.

: This would make sense - 343 GS is indeed obsessed with the flood - he exists
: almost exclusively to contain them and would naturally have an unhealthy
: preoccupation with the flood/worm.

: SO Cortana's mother = Blake's worm = flood.

: This explains why Cortana would want to destroy Halo - a virtual Jail of the
: flood and destroyer of its food source.

ok lol I havent read blake and im not a theologian (sp sorry im dumb lol) so ill have to say that its a good, if strechy, argument.

Sorry to always oppose your ideas, but XP its fun. Plus i feel like you guys are putting a little too much into whats there. Just realize that the story is very hazy.... you may be reading too much into the space 'between the lines'. But its all good and well thought out, so i commend you!